Sales in an Interview

I recently made a classic sales mistake during an interview that has been nagging at me for days. I realized only after the fact that I was trying to sell myself without pausing to ask enough questions or think about the interviewer. After considering it more, I realized that this is a common mistake of mine. I will work on this in the future!

This learning experience occurred during a first round phone screen for a supply chain internship near home for the summer. On the job posting, they listed candidate requirements such as: business analysis & supply chain majors, excel experience, supply chain knowledge, fast-paced environment, etc.. When I saw the job description and things they were looking for, I thought I fit the requirements perfectly. The job tasks and company also seemed interesting. Because of this, I was eager to apply for the job and was thrilled when I was asked to schedule an interview.

I prepared for the interview by writing down some notes from the job posting and connecting them to things I had done in the past or was interested in. I hoped this would prepare me for some first-round questions, so I tunnel visioned on these notes. The interview went well until I was hit with a question I did not answer well: “why do you want to work for this company?”. I jumped to the answer with happy ears and went on and on about why the opportunity and job specifics interested me. While this was an honest answer, I never considered asking a clarifying question such as “what do you mean by that?”. After my long-winded answer, the interviewer had to clarify herself and ask why this company specifically, and I was not prepared. This led to a short lull in conversation that was otherwise going well. I believe the rest of the interview was a success, but I guess I’ll find out on Monday!

In the future, I will make sure to ask clarifying questions and not assume the other party/interviewer’s true needs and desires. This was a very valuable sales experience for me!